Institute of Risk and Uncertainty launch

Director of the Institute of Risk and Uncertainty, Professor Michael Beer (second from right) is joined at the launch by, from left, Bruce R. Ellingwood from Colorado State University, Pol D. Spanos from Rice University and University of Liverpool Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Patrick Hackett

The University of Liverpool has launched a new research Institute aimed at understanding risk and uncertainties at a global scale in order to address and mitigate problems such as disasters and crisis.

The nature and consequences of disasters, hazards and real world problems are becoming increasingly complex. The global financial crisis and disasters such as Hurricane Katrina or the Fukishima nuclear incident demonstrate how events can cause a cascade of inter-related effects on technological, environmental, financial, social and further systems.

The Institute of Risk and Uncertainty, which is home to researchers across health, science, mathematics, engineering, social sciences, and humanities disciplines, will work with industry and governmental bodies to quantify, mitigate and manage risk in a variety of fields.

Professor Michael Beer, Director of the Institute of Risk and Uncertainty, said: “The Institute is the only one of its kind in the UK – and perhaps in Europe – that connects research strengths, technologies and experts from such a broad mix of disciplines.

“This breadth gives us a large pool of methodologies, tools and experience to explore the issues of risk and resilience associated with building design, climate analysis, reliability engineering, software reliability and materials science. Our work also touches on financial modelling, methods to reduce any socio-political harm and critical incident management.

“Working together, the Institute will create a powerhouse of new ideas, approaches and methods with which to understand and manage an uncertain world.”

The launch of the Institute is being marked with a symposium which brings together key industry, academic and public sector stakeholders.  The symposium will discuss the latest research insights and techniques in the field of uncertainty, complexity, change, and risk and explore future challenges and opportunities.

It has more than 40 full-time staff and approximately 70 PhD students and will be housed in a dedicated research hub in the University’s Chadwick Building.